Democrat Carole Fiola and GOP candidate Dr. David Steinhof were declared nominees in their respective parties Tuesday night in the special 6th Bristol Representative District and will move on to the Sept. 10 general election.

Democrat Carole Fiola and GOP candidate Dr. David Steinhof were declared nominees in their respective parties Tuesday night in the special 6th Bristol Representative District and will move on to the Sept. 10 general election.

In the Democratic primary, Fiola, a real estate agent and former Governor’s Council member, received 35.9 percent of the votes with 1,419 votes out of the 3,956 cast in Fall River. In the Assonet section of Freetown, out of 169 total votes cast in the primary, Fiola received 74 votes.

Fiola, in a post-primary race celebration at Eagle Event Center on North Main Street, praised her opponents for running a clean race, among cheers, clapping and supporters chanting her name.

“This is an awesome responsibility, but our job is not done. We have to get to Sept. 10,” Fiola told supporters. “I want to congratulate the other candidates because they ran an excellent race, every one of them. We had a very positive campaign. No one succumbed to negative tactics... we all put ourselves out there,” Fiola said. “I want to thank them and their supporters.

“I want to thank the voters tonight,” said Fiola. “I feel that the hard work has paid off. He or she that works the hardest usually wins. ... The money was great, but truly, people want somebody who works hard.”

She promised no letup until the election: “Now I’m going to ask the voters of Fall River and Freetown. I’ll continue to work hard and ask them to vote for me. ... I’m hoping that the supporters of my opponents will come together.

“We’re going to have to keep going for another three or four weeks to get this job done.”

“I know how hard she worked,” said Donna Winn, a co-manager on Fiola’s campaign. “It was a good race, a clean race and all of the candidates worked very hard.”

Winn promised the campaign will continue and finish strongly: “You’ll be seeing a lot of social media. A lot of meeting people ... there will be more door-to-door, and more phone calls,” said Winn. “I think it was her dedication to meeting everybody that made the difference. She made thousands of phone calls. We met so many people, and were listening to what the public had to say.

“Carole had a message, but it was more important to listen to what the constituents’ issues were,” said Winn.

Steinhof, a local dentist who was the sole candidate on the Republican primary ballot and hosted his general election campaign kick-off Tuesday night after the polls closed, said a week ago his campaign was still scrambling for volunteers, but that momentum has been building as he knocks on doors and meets residents.

“My outlook now is to hit the ground running,” Steinhof said, “and my best teammates are the voters out there who are just adding to the momentum to my campaign. They’re a great bunch of people who know us and agree that things need to be done differently.”

Page 2 of 3 - In the Fall River Republican primary, Steinhof received 301 of the 323 votes cast, with 93 percent. There were 22 write-in names. In Assonet, Steinhof received 38 votes in the Republican primary.

Joining Steinhof at his kick-off at the restaurant Mesa 21 were Beacon Hill Republican leaders and former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown.

City Councilor Bradford Kilby came in a close second in the Democratic race, with 1,265 votes, equaling 32 percent of the votes. In Freetown, Kilby received 28 votes.

At the T.A. restaurant on South Main Street, where Kilby’s supporters, including most of his fellow city councilors, had gathered, he said he and his group of volunteers have worked very hard in the last six months and he respects the will of the voters.

“I am so grateful to the amount of people who assisted me in this effort,” Kilby said, “I have no regrets.”

Asked if he would consider a second run in 2014 for the seat, Kilby said he’s learned not to dismiss anything in life.

“Anything is possible,” Kilby said.

City Councilor David Dennis came in third place in Fall River with 634 votes or 16.04 percent.

Dennis said in an email statement he congratulates Fiola on being named the Democratic nominee for state representative.

“Our campaign was a long one, and while we did not come out on top, my service to the community is not over,” Dennis wrote. “I have always called Fall River my home, and I will always work to fulfill its untapped potential. I thank all my volunteers for their countless hours of hard work, I am truly humbled by the support I have received.”

Newcomer Gerald Potvin was a close fourth place with 628 votes or 15.89 percent, with 28 votes cast in Assonet.

Potvin said he congratulates Fiola and his other fellow candidates.

“I was very surprised at the outcome, but again, I wish the winner the best.” Potvin said.

The 6th Bristol Representative District seat opened at the end of April after 16-year veteran state Rep. David Sullivan resigned when he was hired as the Fall River Housing Authority’s executive director. Several candidates, including Kilby, Fiola and Dennis, immediately declared their interest in succeeding Sullivan in January when it became apparent he was going to be named head of the housing authority. It took almost four months before Sullivan’s contract was signed and the candidates could officially declare their candidacy.

Fiola raised five times the amount in campaign contributions than her Democratic rivals.

The winner of the general election between Fiola and Steinhof will serve less than 16 months of the remaining duration of the representative’s office until the 2014 election.

The 6th Bristol Representative District covers most of Fall River’s North End and the western section of Freetown.